Her Maid, His Butler
by amberrolyat
Summary: In the calm before the next big storm, the Phantomhive Manor is visited by Lizzy along with some new friends. Among the arrival of the new guests, one very cunning and unpredictable maid seems to catch the attention of one demon butler, bringing about a side of him that no one, not even Ceil has seen before.
1. Prologue Part I

Prologue Part I: Her Lady, Making an Entrance

"Young Master, it is time to get up."

Hello reader, my name for the time being is Sebastian Michaelis. The spoiled brat-excuse me, _young child_ whom I am tending to is named Ciel Phantomhive. At the age of 13 the Young Master has been doing an excellent job of taking care of the many affairs in the underground. (Only with my help of course).

At the call of the Queen, this little guard dog is able to sniff out anything that may be a threat to his master and tear it apart.

I hate dogs.

And yet here I am, virtually the dog of a guard dog, in present 19th century England. Nothing to fret over though, this is only a speck within eternity; the end result of this façade will be most beneficial for me—the taste of the young master's soul is certainly a delicacy worth waiting for. A soul like his is only something that a demon will come across once every millennium.

"Young Master, I have prepared Earl Grey for your morning tea. Would you like some milk with it this morning?"

Young Master Ciel turned in his fetal position and sat up from the bed. Grabbing his eye patch from the nightstand and staring blankly into the distance, he said, "Hold the milk for today, Sebastian. I need my tea strong."

I watched him put on his eye patch as I poured the dark liquid into the flowered cup. Placing it on the saucer, I handed it to him.

"Nightmares again, Young Master?"

"Hardly…" he said, looking away.

"You don't seem sure of your words, Young Master."

"Since when have I ever been unsure of my words, Sebastian?" He said sharply, focusing his gaze on me.

"Please excuse me, Young Master."

"Although," he said after taking a few sips of tea. "I wouldn't say that imagining Lady Elizabeth coming over to decorate everyone in pink bows could be considered a dream either."

 _That is a nightmare._

"Of course not, Young Master. But you did not forget that she is scheduled to pay us a visit for afternoon tea?"

"So that's what's happening today. What does the rest of this morning look like, Sebastian?"

"Aside from your usual business, your schedule is clear until afternoon tea, Young Master."

"Hm, that seems a little odd…"

"Would you like me to give you a dance lesson in your free time then, Young Master? You could always use a little help with your turns, and I'm sure Lady Elizabeth would appreciate you not stepping on her toes."

"Absolutely not!"

I couldn't help but to crack smile. You see, the young master really is a poor dancer, sometimes I almost feel sorry for Lady Elizabeth. I've lived for a long time, and have never seen someone as do as badly as Master Ciel on the ballroom floor.

"Shall I leave you to start the preparations for our guests, Young Master?"

"Please do."

"Well then, please excuse me, Young Master."

And so, my duties as a butler continued throughout the day…

* * *

"Ceil! Ceil! Ceil!" I watched as Lady Elizabeth wrapped her slender arms around the Young Master's stiff neck. She pressed her pale cheek against his, and a slight flush came over him, but he refused to return his finance's affectionate embrace.

"Ceil, it's been too long! What have you been up to this whole-oh my!" The young lady suddenly released the Young Master and held her hands to her face.

"What's wrong, Lizzy?" asked the Young Master.

"Ceil! What are you doing wearing so many dark colours? Black and grey don't make you look cute at all!"

"Sorry Lizzy, maybe I'll wear something better tomorrow…"

 _Oh Young Master, you know that you're not sorry at all._

"Welcome, Lady Elizabeth. It's wonderful to see you again."

"Oh Sebastian! Please do make sure that Ceil stops wearing such dreary colours all the time! It's no good for his mood you know."

"Of course, Lady Elizabeth." _Perhaps when pigs fly, Lady Elizabeth._

"My Lady, please, let us go inside for tea. There's always time to give the Earl some fashion advice later." said Paula.

"Alright, Paula," she said smiling up at her friend.

"Don't forget about me, my dear girl."

"I'm sorry Aunt Sophie, how could I almost forget about my most favorite relative?"

The last woman to get out of the carriage was what most humans would call beautiful and middle aged. With the blonde hair of her niece, she stood tall and erect next to Paula in an emerald green dress. Decked in fine pearls and smelling heavily of perfume, it was easy to tell that she was certainly one of England's elite.

The woman gave a warm smile to her niece and patted her on the head gently. "No worries, my dear girl. You know I'm not all too good with introductions anyway. I'm not one for formalities either; just call me Sophie if you will please."

"Ceil, I'm not sure you remember Aunt Sophie. She met you when we were both really small. I've invited her and my cousin over for tea since they don't visit very often. I hope you're alright with that."

"No, of course it's fine. I don't remember you well, Sophie, but welcome to Phantomhive Manor. I hope your time with us is pleasent."

"Pardon me for interrupting, but you said that your cousin would be visiting us too, Lady Elizabeth?"

"Oh yes, my daughter is with the maid at the moment." said Sophie. "Archery lessons. She will be joining us a little later."

"Oh Ciel, you're going to love my younger cousin!" The young lady took hold of my Master's arm and started walking with him to the front doors. "She reminds me a lot of you when we were younger. Today is going to be plenty of fun, I promise!"

 _I may need to find myself a cat if your cousin is anything like you, Lady Elizabeth…_


	2. Prologue Part II

Prologue Part II: Her Lady, Making an Entrance

"Hurry, milady!"

"Amber, wait up!"

"You don't want to be more late than you already are, do you?"

"No, but-" I stopped to look at my young girl. Lady Scarlet was looking a bit stressed. Her small hands were in fists, and her thin brows were furrowed under the brim of her hat. "I don't know how on earth we are going to get there in decent time, Amber. Taking the carriage would be an awful long time, don't you think?"

"I believe that you're right, but if we don't take a carriage, then we will have to ride on horseback…"

"Really?" she inquired with a small grin, the worry from her face melted away. "That would certainly be faster."

"Shall we then?" I said returning the smile. My Lady is always up for small adventures, this is perhaps what I like about serving her the most. What more could a servant ask for in such a young master?

"Jenkins!" She called

"Yes, Lady Scarlet?" Jenkins said from afar.

"Could you fetch me a horse, please?"

"But Milady, the carriage is ready for you in the front. Also, it would be very unbecoming for a lady to ride horseback…"

I couldn't be bothered with listening to the silly things that Jenkins had to say. This life is always limiting young ladies in almost the same way that it limits blacks. But I've learned that there are times when blacks and ladies can turn the tables on the cards that they are dealt and defy the odds. I've learned from experience, because after all, I was and am a black woman myself.

Ladies can do whatever they please. Riding a horse certainly wasn't going to kill her. While Jenkins was scolding my master, I picked up my skirts and ran to the stables. _We don't have time for your long-winded lectures, Jenkins._ I hurried through the stables till I came across a stall that held a beautiful chocolate colored horse in it. A servant was feeding it hay when I swung the door open on the stall.

"My word, Amber! You startled me!" the alarm in his voice caused the horse to knock the bucket of hay out of his hands.

I moved past him and grabbed hold of the reigns in front of me. "Excuse me sweetheart, but I need you for right now."

"What are you doing? Isn't the carriage ready for you and the young lady out front?" he asked, picking up the bucket from the ground.

"Change of plans. She has had enough food hasn't she?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Great! That's all I needed to hear." I hoisted myself utop the steed and had it trot to where I left Lady Scarlet. I heard the servant calling behind me to come back, but of course I decided to ignore him. The only one I who I ever decided to obey was Lady Scarlet.

"Lady Scarlet! We depart now!" I held a hand to my master as she ran to meet me.

"Amber! You know you shouldn't be doing this!" Shouted Jenkins.

"I only carry out the wishes of Lady Scarlet."

"Young Master! Your mother will be hearing about this!" he pleaded in a last ditch effort to stop her.

"You're right, she will hear all about this, Jenkins. Just as soon as we reach the Phantomhive manor, I'll be telling my mother everything." She took my hand and she seated herself very snug behind me. "Let's leave now, Amber. I don't like being this tardy."

"See you soon Jenkins!"

A few miles after we had left an angry, grumbling Jenkins in the dust of our ride, Lady Scarlet asked, "Why did you say that to him?" Her tone was sad and lofty.

"Say what?"

"See you soon?"

"Do you not want to see him soon, milady?"

"Sometimes, I don't ever want to see him or that place again, Amber."

I didn't say anything to my master for a while. I just let the clatter of the horse's gallop and the rush of the wind in our ears fill the silence between us. I knew that she did not like to stay in the manor. I knew that I was her favorite servant, because I was more or less her only friend besides her older cousin. Lady Scarlet's life certainly hadn't been hard up until that point, but even so, noble girls like her can become quite lonely after sometime. She and I both knew that the world was so much bigger than Europe and she wanted to explore it with many friends by her side.

Luckily for my master, and dear friend, time was on her side. At the age of nine, Lady Scarlett had her whole life ahead of her, and she would never have to worry about being alone because I would always be at her side.

"How about we just look forward to the time that we will be able to spend with your lovely cousin?" I said finally.

"You're right, Amber. And I bet the Phantomhives have a wonderful manor. Don't you think?"

"I'm sure it's splendid, milady."

"You know you don't need to call me that when nobody's around, Amber."

"Of course," I said with a smile on my lips. "Well then, as a friend of yours, Scarlet, I will say that I think you worry too much; let's have some fun at this manor, alright?"

"Yes..."

* * *

As expected, the ride to the Phantomhive manor seemed shorter than expected if we would have went by coach. When we arrived, a chipper boy wearing a homely straw hat greeted us. _He must be the gardener, how cute,_ I thought to myself.

"Hello!" He said with a grand smile. "Who are you? Could you be the guests that Lady Elizabeth is expecting?"

"So my cousin is here," said Scarlett. "good! My name is Scarlett, nice to meet you, sir."

"I'm Finny! I'm sorry, but I wasn't expecting a noble lady to be arriving on horseback…"

"Would you mind assisting my master, Finny?"

"Of course! Please take my hand, Lady Scarlet." the boy extended his arms to her, and effortlessly swept her off the horse and placed her neatly on the ground.

I dismounted by myself and handed the reins to him. "Excuse me, on normal circumstances, I would take care of this myself, but we are running late, and I would like to get my master to her destination as soon as possible. Could you take our horse for me?"

"Yes! My master is having tea with Lady Elizabeth now in the garden! Tanaka will take you to them right away!" Finny motioned to an old butler who was standing by the stairway leading to the front doors of the manor.

"Thank you, Finny." I gave him the smallest curtsy and followed Scarlet to meet Tanaka.

The inside of the manor was certainly extravagant, full of beautiful rugs, polished ornaments, pricey furniture, and all of it very clean and well kept. It was everything that a noble's home should have been: stunning.

 _These people must have one hell of a butler,_ I thought.

"This way too the garden…" Tanaka said.

"Wait, sir," Scarlet took his hand suddenly, and he stopped in his tracks and looked at her.

"What is it, young miss?" he asked kindly.

"It's just a little ways down there, isn't it? If so, You don't have to see us down there. I would like to surprise my cousin since I haven't seen her in a while. I want to make my own entrance if that's okay with you Mr. Tanaka?"

The old man looked at her a bit surprised and then he looked at me and made brief eye contact. I shrugged as if to say: I follow my master's orders.

"Of course, miss." He said. He gave a slight bow and said, "If you should need anything from me during your stay, do not hesitate to call for me."

"Thank you, Tanaka," she smiled and then looked at me and said, "carry me on your shoulder would you? I want you to run to them as fast as you can!"

My young master was so excited to see her cousin that day, I could tell because she hardly ever asked me to carry her those days. I was a bit surprised by the request, but still I swept her up, and places her on my left shoulder. I held her steady by her legs and ran to finally meet her cousin.

As I ran through the flowers we could make out the figures that were once in the far distance and see that Lady Sophie was there along with Lady Elizabeth and a few others within a gazebo.

"Run faster, Amber! I see her!" Scarlet was starting to get more excited. "Should I call out to her?"

"It all depends on if you would like the Phantomhive's first impression of you to be lady-like or not."

"Oh, I forgot about that…" I could tell she was a little embarrassed, and she decided not to say anything.

We quickly approached the white gazebo; a clumsy looking maid was walking up the steps with a tray neatly arranged with sweets on it. The dishes clattered under the influence of her clamouring hands and unstable steps. We were right behind her when Lady Elizabeth saw us and immediately shot up from her seat.

"Scarlet! Is that you?" She exclaimed vibrantly.

Unfortunately, the loud shout from Lady Elizabeth startled the maid to the point where she lost her grip of the silver tray she carried.

Before Scarlet could say anything, I acted quickly and took large strides to place myself next to the maid.

"Amber!" without saying anything more, Scarlet ordered me to catch the tray, and that is what I did.

I let go of my master's legs and with one hand I gripped the a pillar of the gazebo, and with the other I extended freely. Scarlet wrapped one of her arms around me to keep her position on my shoulder, and I used the pillar as an anchor as I swung my body closer to the tray. My empty hand was able to catch it, thankfully.

There we were, and there I was, in the entryway of this stranger's gazebo: with my master on my shoulder, a tray in one hand and the grip on a pillar in the other. I had noticed that the butler present had moved from his initial position, away from his master to do the job that I had just done, assumedly. But instead of holding the tray like I was, he was standing just a few feet in front of me. It had all happened so quickly, that it took the maid a few seconds to realize what had happened before she apologized.

"Oh my! I am s-so sorry! I cannot believe I did something like that! And in front of the young master's guests!" the more she stammered on, the more red her face began to grow. "Please forgive me!"

"Don't apologize, I was just following orders," I said.

"That's right," agreed Scarlet. "It's alright, Amber will carry this to the table for you."

"Was this the kind of entrance you were wanting?" I joked. I let go of the pillar and took a few steps forward until the a cold voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Mey-Rin!" the man in front of us said to the maid. "Go help Baldroy in the kitchen for dinner preparations."

I knew that he was talking to his fellow servant, but for some reason the chill in his tone made me want to tread lightly around him. I felt very careful near this man...

"Yes, Sebastian." she bowed and left our presence in a hurry.

"Please, let me take that from you. Our guests should not be doing these kinds of things. It is unbecoming to the Phantomhive name." The dark red eyes of the butler met mine and the forbidding vibe he emitted told me that I should let him have the tray...

* * *

I looked at the woman with the child on her shoulder. She had performed rather gracefully in saving the food that our useless maid was about to ruin. For a split second I wondered who the woman could have been. With the light blue gown she was wearing, she certainly didn't look like an average maid.

But then again, with her ebony-like skin and amber shaded eyes, she didn't look like the average English citizen either.

"Don't apologize," she said "I was just following orders."

 _No, that clumsy Mey-Rin needs to apologize, or else we can hire a new maid…._

So she is a maid. This was the maid that Sophie had chosen to leave her child with. Maybe this woman wasn't as simple-minded as her young niece to leave her daughter with this able-bodied woman. What was more interesting was that this woman had prevented Mey-Rin's accident before I could fully react.

"Please, let me take that from you. Our guests should not be doing these kinds of things. It is unbecoming to the Phantomhive name."

I looked into her eyes; she couldn't possibly be a demon too… No, this woman was human-I could smell the blood running through her. But even so, there was something too peculiar about her amber eyes that ever so slightly sparked the interest of this demon.


	3. Chapter I Part I: His Butler, Annoyed

Chapter One Part One: His Butler, Annoyed

"It's so good to see that you made it here safely, Scarlet," Elizabeth beamed at my master and took her hands in hers. "You know that it's been way too long since the last time we've met. Oh-and I absolutely adore your dress! This pink color reminds me of a hat that I have!"

"It's good to see you as well," she gave a weakened smile. "you know it's been quite lonely for me lately…"

"How was archery, dear?" Sophie butt in before Scarlet could further expound on her feelings, not that she would have wanted to share them anyway.

"The usual, I suppose…"

There was a pause.

We were all sitting at a rather large round table in the center of the gazebo-correction: my lady and the others were sitting at a rather large round table in the center of the gazebo. As for me, I was standing at the side of my lady, while the intimidating butler was serving up another round of tea.

Paula took in a large amount of tea, practically inhaling it, and let out a relaxed sigh.

The air was quite awkward, I must admit… I guess we really blew our first impressions with startling Mey-Rin and all. I hoped that she would be okay, that butler did seem to be a little coarse with her…The boy sitting across from Scarlet had introduced himself as the Earl of Phantomhive, from his age and mannerisms, I could tell the the talk about him being the only surviving member of his family was true. So young and yet, he still carried himself in a way that a fully grown adult would. Very impressive.

"Sebastian," said the young Earl. "please offer the maid of our guest a chair and tea."

"I couldn't possibly-" I started, but I was cut off by the Earl.

"Please, at least sit down. The only people who should be hovering about are my servants. Right, Sebastian?" He used his big blue eye to set a heavy gaze on his butler, whose name was Sebastian, apparently.

"Yes, My Lord." his butler immediately pulled out a chair for me in between Scarlet and her mother. Tipping his head slightly he said, "Please make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you," I said quietly. I was not used to this kind of treatment, obviously. I was the one who would serve, not the other way around. It made me feel uncomfortable, but despite my feelings I quickly sat beside my two masters. I felt a chill rush through me as Sebastian poured my tea.

 _Strange… And it's such lovely weather today…_

"I know that we call her the maid," began Sophie, proudly. "but our Amber is so much more than that. They say that these dark people are sub-par, but Amber really is the best maid that we've ever had. She is so good with Scarlet, I don't know how I could ever repay her. Plus she's way smarter than the idiots I'm required to encounter on a daily basis."

I immediately look the cup in my hand and vigorously gulped down the hot beverage. My throat was burning, but my face was even hotter; my forehead began to develop a thin film of sweat as Sophie continued. Scarlet's mother always liked boast about me, and I never knew why. Of course I could do all the things that she and her daughter could ask of me and more. If I couldn't at least do that, then I don't know what kind of maid I would be.

"Please, you're saying too much ma'am…." I said, placing the cup back on its saucer. "If I couldn't at least meet your standards, then I wouldn't be fit to serve you."

"Our maid is so modest, she is!" She continued. "Should we just promote you to governess, then?"

"Amber's your favorite servant isn't she, mother?" said Scarlet.

"But of course, I just got through saying that!"

"Well then you should be sure to ignore everything that Jenkins says when we return home…"

"Why on earth would I do that?" Sophie looked at her daughter with a confused gaze and then eyed me in question. "What happened? Will I arrive home to a manor that has been burnt to the ground?"

"No Lady Sophie! Of course not…"

"It's just that we decided not to take the carriage down here…" Scarlet confessed.

"In her defense, I would like to say that the lady was worried about arriving more late than she already was. She just wanted to see Lady Elizabeth as soon as possible…"

"You mean you rode here on your own?"

"Well, Scarlet was the one who-yes...but-"

"Hah!" Sophie started to giggle as if she were half her age, nearly coughing on her tea in mid-sip. "I bet Jenkins was really steamed with you both! I can't stand how stiff he is sometimes! Don't tell him I said this, but he really needs to lighten up."

"So you're not mad at us, mother?" Scarlet asked.

"Did you really think I'd be upset over something as silly as that, girl? You got here safe and in better time than you would have if you would had taken the carriage. Well done, Amber."

"It was nothing, Lady Sophie," I said.

"Wow, I can't believe you did that Scarlet! What my mom would do if she ever found out that I did something so unbecoming of a lady…" said Elizabeth, taking a sip of tea.

"Your maid knows how to ride? What can't she do?" the Earl asked behind an overly pleasant smile, so pleasant that it actually seemed a little devious. Something seemed a little off about this boy.

"Plenty, Earl Phantomhive…" I locked my fingers together in my lap and adverted my eyes. "I am just a humble servant…"

"As you should be."

Yes, something about the young Earl had disturbed me. He was kind on the surface. Lady Scarlet seemed to enjoy his company. He hadn't done anything out of the ordinary for the duration of out tea time, and yet, there was something about him that led me to believe that he was hiding something from his guests.

To intensify these feelings of unease even further, his butler, Sebastian raised a separate set of concerns for me. His presence didn't seem...warm. Please don't get me wrong, not everyone has a warm vibe about them; some people are cold, I'm sure you know. But sebastian literally didn't have a warm presence. Perhaps I should phrase this a little differently: Sebastian seemed vacant, although he was all there. He didn't seem _alive_.

Hah! I'm just being silly, dear reader. Of course Sebastian was alive. I was certain that he was.

"I didn't quite take you for a maid at first if you don't mind me saying," Sebastian said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Would you care for some more tea?"

"Oh…" I had forgotten that I drank my first cup without hesitation. _Maybe I shouldn't get anymore…_

Before I could answer, he had already filled my cup to just below the brim and said, "I never did offer my thanks from earlier did I? You will have to excuse Mey-Rin, she really is a clutz; always good at making messes. You spared me some clean up."

"I was just following my orders," I said. Bravely, I looked up at him and was met with his crimson irises. He gave a slight grin and stepped away.

"I can appreciate a fellow servant who follows their master's orders."

"You say that as if the servants around here don't do as they're told..." I said under my breath.

"It's because they're all idiots."

"Excuse me?" _Did that weird butler hear me just now?_

"Sebastian!" Ciel snapped. "What have you prepared for dessert today?"

"Oh dear!" Mey-Rin scurried down the stairs with both arms full of thick towels. "This rain really did pop up out of nowhere didn't it? Here, take this!"

"Thank you," I took one for Scarlet and one for myself. I cloaked the white cloth over her head and shook it across her hair.

"Amber, _stop_!" She whined. "You're going to ruin my hair!"

My lady's hair had already been ruined by the rain though. Her braided bun was weighed down by all the water that it absorbed and it had begun to frizz terribly. Although, put next to my own hair, Scarlet still looked like a well kept lady. Thick and heavy tightly curled wads of hair clung to the nape of my neck and stuck to the back of my dress like plaster. The ribbon I had used to tie it back earlier that morning could barely contain the untamed monster growing from my scalp that was my hair.

I sighed out of apathy. _At least you don't ever need to put up with this, my lady..._

"It's too late for that, dear." her mother said. "Would you prefer to have bad hair now or a bad cold later?"

We were just finishing the cakes that Sebastian served to us when all of a sudden dark clouds came over us and let out an unexpected amount of rain. We all rushed for the manor, but by the time we were safe indoors we were all soaked through. Such a nice day had turned sour without any warning at all.

"We weren't planning to stay for dinner, Ciel…" Elizabeth started. "But considering the weather…"

"Of course I wouldn't send you home in this…"

"How wonderful! I can spend more time with my Ciel!" Elizabeth threw off her towel and clung tightly to the young earl.

"Oh come on, Lizzy! You could at least wait till we're both dry first."

"So are we going to stay here for a little while longer, mother?" Scarlet looked up at Sophie with a gleam of hope in her eyes.

"Well don't look too excited…"

Scarlet let out a small sigh of relief."I just want to stay away for a little while longer. You know much I don't like being cooped up in there."

"This won't do for now. We can't have everyone dripping wet at the dinner table. Mey-Rin, go tell Baldroy that he'll need to-" Ciel paused, as if to rethink something. "Wait. No nevermind. Sebastian!" he called out.

There was silence.

"That's weird. Where is he?" Elizabeth asked. "Sebastian and Ciel are usually attached at the hip, you know." she said to Scarlet and Sophie.

"Well, now that I think of it, I don't think I remember him coming in with us after tea…"said Paula.

"Sebastian!" he called again.

Right after tea, the weather took a random turn for the worse and the rain came. We were making our way back to the manor when suddenly fat droplets of ambushed us.

"Oh no!" said Elizabeth. "This is one of my favorite dresses, and it's getting all wet…"

"It's only a little water, Lizzy." said Young Master.

Ironically enough a few seconds later, the downpour became more intense and Elizabeth threw a fit. It was as they say "raining cats and dogs" on us all-fortunately there were no dogs. The rain was relentless-nearly ruining everyone's clothes and soaking them through to the flesh. This didn't bother me as much of course, so while everyone was running to shelter, I slipped away to find the source of a familiar voice that I heard coming from the hedges.

"Oh, there you are."

From behind some greenery I retrieved a small, fragile black cat. Was it a kitten, perhaps? Anyway, I took the small thing with me. There was no chance in me letter her stay outside in the cold rain all alone. Such an elite creature shouldn't be left to face the dangers of nature at such a young age anyway. If it were to stay out in that weather, it's silky black coat would be ruined and its soft little paws would become dried out.

"Well will have to hide you some place where our young master won't find us. How about my room?" It looked up at me with its innocent amber eyes and let out a squeaky "meow".

My dear reader, if I had a heart, it would have melted right then and there.

I'm kidding, of course.

Back in the manor, after I had finished drying off the kitten and successfully concealing her in my room, I headed to the kitchen to check on the dinner preparations.

I could smell one of Baldo's burnt "masterpieces" upon approaching the closed door. The stench was quite strong and bitter. This was very typical work of the Phantomhive cook, but it couldn't be helped: I was surrounded by idiots you know. Baldroy was just one of those idiots.

"Baldroy!" I swung open the door to find him hunched over a mass of charcoal burnt meat at the counter with a flamethrower in hand. _There goes the roast…what shall I make for dinner instead?_

"Sebastian! You know how I like to try out new things every once in a while! I was just-hey!"

I snatched up the flamethrower from the brute and took the meat and disposed of it. "You know Baldroy, you're always saying that you're trying something new, but in all honesty, all you ever do is scorch newly prepared meals that I've made with the same awful thing."

"But Sebastian, I-!"

"Stop. That's enough of this for today. Clean up the rest of this mess. I'll be back shortly to prepare dinner."

Elsewhere in the manor I could hear the Young Master calling me. "On second thought, you take this back. I don't have time to dispose of it now. But I did mean it when I said to clean up. Don't use that contraption or else I will break it. I mean it."


	4. Chapter I Part II: Her Maid, Capable

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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""I am right here, Young Master."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Sebastian came quickly beside his young master and gave a slight bow. "I was just checking on the status of tonight's meal."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Ciel rolled his eyes and gave his orders: "Sebastian! Have dinner prepared for everyone at the normal time. Also, find some dry clothes for our guests to wear. If you can't find any clothes, make some."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Yes, Young Master."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Sebastian tookus all to separate rooms in the Phantomhive manor. Elizabeth and Paula were in one room together, Sophie was in a room by herself, and Sebastian was just about to put Scarlet and I together when she said, "I would like to be by myself, please."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Really?" I asked, looking at her inquisitively. She usually has me dress her all the time, but that day was not the case for her. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""I just want my space right now, Amber." There was a strange shadow in her face and a removed look in her eyes that told me she was far too deep in the depths of her mind; it worried me slightly. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"I opened my mouth to say something, but the butler cut me off before I could get my words out. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""That will be fine, miss." he said. He placed a dry gown on the bed for her. "The Young Master has requested that we all meet in the dining hall after you're changed into dry clothes. Well then, please excuse me."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"He left the room and closed the door behind him. We were both alone in the corridor. Dear reader, it was an awkward moment in my life; I know that the earl told Sebastian to give us all dry clothes and a place to change, but things like that usually did not apply to a servant, let alone a person of color. I stood there silently, and not really expecting him to say anything, I didn't move as he walked past me. emI should just wait until my lady is finished dressing. I'm a bit worried about her.../em/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""And you will be in this room, miss." red eyes looked back at me to motion me forward. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Oh, yes…" slightly embarrassed, I rushed up behind him. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Of course we wouldn't leave you out. The maid of our guest cannot be left in a state that is unfit to serve." he opened the door to the room next to Scarlet and placed a black maid's uniform on the bed. "This is the uniform that Mey-Rin wears. I see that your master gives her servants more freedom with their clothing, but this is all that I can offer you at the moment. I take it that this will be alright with you for the evening?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"I walked up to the maid's dress and felt the fabric on the tips of my fingers; it was heavy and soft and seemed to be made of wool, and more importantly, it was dry. I had almost forgotten how awful my skin felt in that heavy dress that had been saturated in rain water. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""I can make you clothing if this is not acceptable." he said. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"I was unsure of how a butler could single handedly sew a dress within a day, let alone within the time between then and dinner time, which was most likely about an hour depending in how much preparation the help had done during the day. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""I am perfectly content with any clothing that is dry," I said, smiling. "I am grateful for your master's hospitality."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"He looked at me, facial expression unchanged, and said "Well then, please excuse me."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"He left me in my room alone and all I was left alone with my damp towel and dry clothes. Not only was this maids' dress dry but it was practical for my uses. I could hide a lot of things under this bulky thing-and that's exactly what I needed….I looked out the only window in the room; it was big and wide and from the second level of the manor, I could see a good distance across the lawn and into the woods that surrounded it. The sun was setting over the horizon, causing intricate shadows to be cast along the Phantomhive property./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""This place sure is isolated…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Suddenly, there was a gleam of light in the distance-a small fleck of silver light in the greenery, as if some piece of metal was amidst the shrubbery and bushes. I looked closer, squinting intently. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"I couldn't tell what it was by looking at the time, and eventually, whatever it was vanished. Something /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emspan style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"That was strange. I wonder if Scarlet sensed that from before. If something were to happen, I would be able to protect her...Shit-! We didn't bring it with us./span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"At that time I realized that it may have been smarter for us to take the coach in the long run. Scarlet and I did not bring any of our belongings with us. If something were to happen…/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Scarlet would not be prepared. More importantly…./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"I would not be prepared.../span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"-/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"I felt something when I found Young Master Ciel in his study looking over his notes, but I did not say anything immediately. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Young Master, dinner is complete and is ready to be served at your will."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Sebastian, are you sure there wasn't anything I was supposed to do today? I feel as though I should have received something from Her Majesty. You haven't overlooked anything, have you?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"He gave me those, "threatening" eyes that said "I just might haul off and kill you". I supposed that it was a glare that most would call intimidating, especially coming from a child, but it wasn't to me. There was no reason for him to look at me like that anyway. What kind of butler would I be if I couldn't give the Young Master his letters as soon as possible?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""No, young Master. Can I assume that dinner will be served shortly?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"He stood up from his desk and sighed. "Well, so long as everyone isn't sopping wet, dinner can be served immediately."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Right away, Young Master."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"I turned to leave the room, but almost out of nowhere, something had flew in from the window, shattering the glass and nearly striking my Master. My reflexes were much quicker than his and I was able to pull him aside before he could get hurt. On the floor amidst all of the broken glass was a pipe bomb, tied to a brick. I threw it back out of the window, far, far away, and watched it explode in the far distance. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Ciel looked at me, slightly bewildered and said, "Where did emthat/em come from, Sebastian?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""I thought I sensed someone earlier. I was going to take care of them, but they left by the time all of our guests had arrived. They must have come back. Please forgive my poor evaluation of the situation. There's about twenty of them this time. Shall I take care of them now?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Ciel!" Elizabeth rushed into the study, unaware of the danger she could have been in. "What happened in here? Are you alright?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""I knew I heard glass breaking in here…" Sophie and the others came in quickly behind Elizabeth, gathering around the glass shards. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Please, do not worry." said Master Ciel. "The help will take care of this immediately. Mey-Rin! Tell the others to be on the look out for the perpetrators."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Yes, Master." Mey-Rin ran out of the room, probably in search of the closest rifle she kept in the manor and her fellow servants. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Who would do such a thing?" asked Lady Scarlet. She seemed particularly upset, more so than Master Ciel from the looks of it. Her eyes seemed watery and red, as if the tears stung her. Her knuckled hands became like ivory, and they began to tremble uncontrollably. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Scarlet…" Elizabeth came by her cousin to comfort her, but that didn't seem to phase her. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Sophie leaned into the maid's ear and said: "You know I always come prepared. It's in my room just down the hall."And with that, the maid was gone, dashing down the hall and from the sound of it, into the room that Sophie and Scarlet had shared a few moments earlier. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"I slightly wondered what she had meant at the time, but I did not have the luxury to ask silly questions when my Master was about to give his orders. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Sebastian! This is an order-!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Amber!" Scarlet burst into a shout. "Can you hear me?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Ciel stopped, looking quite stunned as did everyone else in the room, everyone else excluding her mother. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Yes, Master!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""If it is the duty of the Phantomhive servants to protect the manor from intruders, then do not let one drop of blood get on a single brick of this manor. Do not let them set even one toe inside of this place! You will not let the servants of this manor do their duty!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Yes, Master!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"-/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"I don't know why I was so surprised to see the window broken in the study. I knew that there was something wrong, and I wish I would have said something about it before any damage was done, but it was not meant to be. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"But then again, even if I would have said something about it, what could I have done? Scarlet and I did not bring the weapons that we normally do with us that time. What could I have done to stop this without being prepared?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emspan style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"What kind of maid is unprepared like this?/span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"I looked over at Scarlet. The whole thing seemed to agitate her more than I expected, and I was afraid that she might go into one of her fits. My anxiety started to build…./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Sophie's voice broke the tension. she whispered in my ear and said: "You know I always come prepared. Its in my room, just down the hall."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"I ran down the hall, flung open the door and spotted the thing that I was so eager to get to. I was so thankful that Sophie thought to bring her special trunk full of weapons with her that day. She was so thoughtful. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"The first thing I grabbed was my knife; I quickly cut the skirt of my dress to mid-thigh length to reveal the four holsters I kept on my legs for handguns. Before I knew the trunk was with me, I was only armed with one gun for emergencies, but now I was able to fill the rest. /span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Amber!" Scarlet called. /span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Yes, Master!" I responded. This was the order that I had been anticipating ever since I saw that strange twinkle in the distance. /span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""If it is the duty of the Phantomhive servants to protect the manor from intruders, then do not let one drop of blood get on a single brick of this manor. Do not let them set even one toe inside of this place! You will not let the servants of this manor do their duty!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Yes, Master!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"I took out another holster and wrapped it around my waist and placed my spared knife in it. The last thing I got from the trunk was Scarlet's bow and arrow; I had a feeling she was going to want it. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"I ran back into the study and tossed her the bow and an arrow. /span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""What do you all think you're doing?" demanded the young earl./span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Please, Earl Phantomhive," said Sophie. "let my daughter and her dear maid take care of this little problem."/span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""What do you mean? And what is she going to do with that bow and arrow? It's nearly pitch black outside."/span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Scarlet jumped utop to the desk and planted her feet shoulder length width apart, and drew back her arrow. Her eyes searched for the perfect target. "There's about twenty of them…"/span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""How can she tell that?" asked the butler./span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Actually, Sebastian…" Elizabeth started. "My family has always been skilled in weaponry. It's not just my immediate family… Aunt Sophie's family has something about them that makes their vision so keen. It's almost inhumane...They use their good sense of sight to aid them in assassination actually… Scarlet is training to be an assassin, like Aunt Sophie…."/span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Excuse me?" Paula seemed just about as surprised as the young earl. I'm sure he would have liked to know if a bunch of killers were walking around in his manor. I felt kind of embarrassed. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"emspan style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Aw, crap! He may not invite us back after this.../span/em/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""It's nothing to fuss over, really." said Sophie. "Now, Scarlet, show me what you learned today during archery lessons…"/span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Amber," Scarlet said calmly. /span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Yes, Master?" I stood with my right foot posted up in the broken window, ready to jump at the sound of her command. /span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Kill everyone except for the man I hit with my arrow. The man with my arrow will stay alive until we are done questioning him. Understand?"/span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Yes, Master."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"My signal to attack was the whistle of her arrow cutting through the air that went straight past my ear. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"-/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"The first thing I knew, the maid had barreled back into the room-barely dressed, having destroyed the clothing I gave her, and in the next moment, she had hurled herself out of a second story window, armed as if she were Mey-Rin. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Scarlet is training to be an assassin?" the Young Master asked. /span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Yes, hopefully she will become as good as I was in my prime." Sophie said. "That was a good shot dear, you hit im in just the right place. He won't die from that wound."/span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Thank you, mother." she stepped down from her position on top of the desk, but still kept her eyes glued to the action outside. /span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Sounds of nervous and chaotic gunfire started to echo throughout the night, completely disrupting the peace it had only ten minutes ago. /span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Do you really think it's a good idea to send just one maid out to kill all of those men?" The Young Master inquired. /span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""I suppose it would be good practice for Scarlet to get out there and join in," said Sophie. "but Amber can handle them well on her own."/span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""It sounds as though you are right," I said. I could hear the difference between the calculated shots that she made in comparison to the sloppy ones coming from the enemy. Not only that, but I could see her as well. The way she moved was very nimble and quick. Her movements never left any room for openings, and every position she took was productive in killing her prey. If she was not using one of her guns to shoot people, she would use her knife to slice their vitals. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""I'm surprised that this is going so well, honestly." said the Young Master. /span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Me too Aunt Sophie!" chimed Lady Elizabeth./span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Well, I don't see why not. Amber is the one who trains my Scarlet while I'm away. She actually led her in her archery lessons today as well, didn't she Scarlet?"/span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""That's right," she said. /span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Aunt Sophie, does that mean that Amber is an assassin too?"/span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""But of course!" /span/p  
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"What an interesting maid this girl was./span/p  
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	5. Chapter II: Her Maid, Smitten

Chapter Two: Her Maid, Smitten

I took a deep breath in and let a steady stream of air out of slightly pursed lips over the tea I held in my hands. I took a sip; that butler Sebastian really did know how to brew some tea-it was very refreshing after carrying out Scarlet's orders.

There were nineteen of them that I killed. I left one alive, but I assumed I'd need to kill him too after his interrogation was over. Ciel and Sebastian were in the other room with him. Although I found it rather odd that the earl would could confront his attackers himself, I did not say a thing and continued to enjoy my hot beverage.

Scarlet approached me and said, "Are you sure you wouldn't like something to eat? You must be tired." She had calmed down from her earlier state of anxiety. That was good to see, but she did not need to worry about me, if anything she needed to be eating with the others.

"I'm quite fine with this tea, thank you."

"Well, alright... But it's really good. Don't hesitate to join us, Amber."

"Is there something you want to tell me?" I looked at my master. She wasn't the type to hover over people but at that moment she was, and she fixed her mouth as if she had something at the tip of her tongue but she just couldn't say it.

"It's nothing... I didn't over react today did I? I was having such a good day with Lizzy. And visiting the Phantomhive manor was so fun, and Ciel seems...interesting...and it was all going so well until..."

"I know. You reacted negatively. But so did everyone else. Please don't worry yourself."

Scarlet folded her arms and put her back to the wall next to me. Closing her eyes, she sighed. She was probably thinking of all the scenarios that could have played out, causing things to have gone horribly wrong. My master was like this all the time. Being raised as an assassin was traumatizing to her, as it would be for any child. Scarlet's mind stays focused on life and death situations-it always has been since her father was killed on a hit job. Since almost two and a half years ago ago she has had to throw out her simple life and seclude herself from anyone, never allowing herself to have any fun or relax. And how could she? All of a sudden the head of the household is pushing daisies and their only successor they left behind being a small girl.

Scarlet hardly ever had fun in a true sense of the word. I believed that visiting the Phantomhive manor was the first time in months my master was excited to do anything. She probably felt foolish for letting her guard down, if not, we could have gotten rid of them before the problem escalated. More noticeably, she was upset that a promising evening of happiness was taken away from her by some low-rate thugs. (Well, they were certainly low-rate in my humble opinion. It really did not take long to kill them all. But then again, I am just a loyal maid to my master. What would I know?)

"You did well with your aim today, Scarlet. You hit him right in the right shoulder. It was helpful for him not to be able to use his gun properly."

"Thanks, Amber." She gave me a weak smile. "You did well today too."

I laughed thinking, _Of course your teacher did well! I need to set a good example for you..._

"What kind of maid would I be if I couldn't follow your orders?"

"You know, a normal response would be just to say thank you..." She said giggling.

"Forgive me..." I said returning the laughter. I was just glad that her mood had perked up.

"Oh, Amber, where did that come from by the way?" She pointed to my lap.

 _That?_

I looked down and saw a skinny black cat curled up over top my crossed thighs. I almost forgot about the poor animal.

"Oh! I forgot about the kitty I found. He was making such a fuss outside. I figured if he was still making a commotion by the time I finished my job I would take him with me. He was just so cute, he sounded like he needed attention, right?"

I laid an open palm gently on the cats head and stroked it slowly. There was no reaction from him but a small yawn.

"You really are a strange maid sometimes, Amber."

"Forgive my indecency, milady."

She shrugged and said, "It doesn't bother me. I think I'll return to Lizzy and the others now. But one thing-"

"What is it?"

"Your clothes. You're a complete mess. You should probably do something about it." And with that, she retired to the dining room.

I looked down at myself. She was right, of course. I was a tattered mess covered in blood splatters and dirt. Not to mention that the maids uniform Sebastian gave to me to wear was completely ripped off-my knees were showing...how indecent of me. Perhaps in master's mansion, it would have been more easily accepted, but while in an almost complete strangers manor, I suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. Dear reader, I hadn't felt so lewd before in my life-I was practically naked!

Growing increasingly anxious, I quickly gulped down the rest of my tea, once again ignoring how scalding hot it was in the process. I set down my tea cup and began petting that lovely cat again.

 _Oh kitten... I seriously need to get all of this crud off me and wash my hair...I would also like a new dress to wear that covers my legs fully...something clean would be nice too, wouldn't it?_

"But we don't want to ask that awfully mean looking butler for another pair of clothes do we?" I cooed.

"Excuse me, miss. I had no idea that I gave off a mean impression to one of my master's guests. Forgive me."

The cat and I looked up at that the same time. The cat glanced over to the side in a lazy manner, but my head snapped up to meet the direction of where the voice was coming from.

The tall and slender figure of the pale butler strode gracefully down the corridor to meet me. I had really wanted to know where he had come from; I assumed that he was still with his master interrogating that man in another room, but I was shown to be wrong, as he was alone in the hall.

Yes reader, I was quite startled by his sudden appearance in the hallway, and I wanted to know how he was able to sneak up on me without my noticing...but more than anything, I wanted to know if this butler had always been so...easy on the eyes? From close encounters this man had been uncomfortable for me to be around-the chill from his attitude made me feel uneasy. But for whatever reason I couldn't help but to stare at him from a distance. More surprising was that he was looking at me with the most intent eyes.


End file.
